Erik Karlsson out for Senators, streak ends at 324

Defenseman scratched against Wild because of injury, will miss first game since Feb. 16, 2013

Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson is not playing at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, ending his consecutive games played streak at 324.

Karlsson was injured blocking a shot in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Karlsson had not missed a game since Feb. 16, 2013, the first game after injuring his Achilles tendon Feb. 13. His streak began April 25, 2013, when he returned from that injury.

He has 68 points (15 goals, 53 assists) in 75 games this season, and leads the NHL with 201 blocked shots.

"We're not going to start coming up with new ways to play because [Karlsson's] not there," Senators coach Guy Boucher said at the morning skate. "We've had good players miss all year and we were able to pull through, so we're going to have to be able to pull through that one."

The Senators (41-25-9) trail the Montreal Canadiens by four points for first place in the Atlantic Division with one game in hand and seven remaining including Thursday. Ottawa has a five-point lead over the Boston Bruins, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.